After hearing Fan Kun's words, Lu Heng suddenly remembered that it had been some time since he last measured his fist strength.
There were always a lot of people waiting to use the fist strength machine, and he was short on time, so he could not afford to queue up.
Nevertheless, he decided to drop by the training hall after returning the saber to see if he could do a quick test.
He figured that since he could produce a striking sound now, his strength should definitely have improved significantly and, likewise, his fist strength reading would naturally rise in tandem.
On the other side, Fan Kun noticed that Lu Heng had remained silent for some time. He looked at the saber in the other party's hand again.
"Lu Heng, where did you get this saber from?"
"The instructor allowed me to borrow it from the equipment room," Lu Heng replied.
Hearing his reply, Fan Kun was shocked. He asked consecutive follow-up questions, "Why would the instructor allow you to borrow a saber? Didn't you just start practicing martial arts not too long ago?"
"I successfully produced a striking sound while practicing the introductory moveset yesterday, no wait, the night before yesterday," Lu Heng explained.
"What?" Fan Kun was stunned. After carefully recollecting for a while, he asked in surprise, "If I remember correctly, you've only been practicing the introductory moveset for two months, right?"
"Yes." Lu Heng nodded.
When Fan Kun heard this, he widened his eyes and looked at Lu Heng in shock. He said, "Oh my God, you managed to produce a striking sound in just two months. I only managed to produce the striking sound after one and a half years."
After saying this, he suddenly thought of something. He quickly asked, "Wait, did you already start practicing the introductory moveset in school?"
"I remember that when we were both tested for the allocations to civil and martial arts classes, weren't your test results similar to mine?"
Fan Kun recalled that his and Lu Heng's test results had been about the same. Logically speaking, Lu Heng should not have mastered the introductory moveset faster than he did.
"Instructor Wu said that my talent test was probably not accurate," Lu Heng explained.
Anyway, this was Instructor Wu's own personal conclusion, so it could be used as a reason despite the fact that Lu Heng knew very well that this was not the reason for his sudden improvement.
"Not accurate?" Fan Kun hesitated for a moment, before slowly nodding and saying, "I seem to have heard of such instances happening. I can't believe it happened to you."
"Who knows? I myself have been depressed about this matter for a long time. If the test had not gotten it wrong back then, I might have already become a martial artist by now."
Lu Heng deliberately displayed a regretful expression.
He had thought it over carefully. He could not let anyone find out that his talent could evolve, not even his own sister.
Therefore, he had to put up an act and ensure that everyone believed that his talent assessment had indeed been inaccurate.
"So, you're practicing saber skills now?" Fan Kun looked at the saber in Lu Heng's hand again and asked enviously, "What kind of saber techniques are you practicing?"
Fan Kun was still practicing fist techniques himself. The main reason for this was that people with ordinary levels of talent like him were not worth cultivating. The dojo would not invest their limited resources into him.
Therefore, he was particularly envious that Lu Heng had been allowed to practice saber techniques.
In the future, if Fan Kun were to enter the battlefield, he would only be able to rely on his gun. If a monster got close to him, he would be helpless to defend himself, while Lu Heng could use his saber to fight in close combat.
"I'm practicing the army-breaking saber technique," Lu Heng said.
"Ah? Isn't that the saber technique created by Grandmaster Liu?" After hearing Lu Heng's answer, Fan Kun's thoughts immediately ran wild.
"Don't tell me that the instructor forced you to practice this saber technique."
Fan Kun thought it would be a miracle if this had nothing to do with Grandmaster Liu's daughter.
"You guessed it right. The instructor really did ask me to practice it."
Lu Heng knew that Fan Kun would misunderstand, so he tried to clarify.
"The instructor asked He Bing to instruct me, and He Bing happens to practice the army-breaking saber technique, so he asked me to practice it as well."
Hearing his explanation, Fan Kun's eyes widened again. He asked, "He Bing, which He Bing? The one from the No. 3 pharmaceutical factory?"
"That's him," Lu Heng replied.
"You... Your instructor is really treating you too well, isn't he?!"
How could Fan Kun not know who He Bing was? Not only was He Bing from the pharmaceutical factory, but his parents also had decent jobs. Their family conditions were good, and their social status was not low.
Instructor Wu had been willing to persuade He Bing for Lu Heng's sake, which showed just how much he valued Lu Heng.
"Lu Heng, don't forget me when you become successful in the future," Fan Kun said weakly.
He looked like he had suffered a serious blow.
After all, he had always thought that Lu Heng was similar to him in terms of martial arts talent and ability. He had not expected Lu Heng to have already gained recognition from the instructor, and even receive special training as a result.
"Don't worry, I definitely won't forget you."
Lu Heng then patted Fan Kun's shoulder and warned him, "Don't tell Big Mouth Jia about this. God knows what story that kid will cook up otherwise."
Fan Kun patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, I won't tell him a word. But this kid might go to He Bing or someone else to ask about it."
"I know."
Lu Heng nodded and said, "It's getting late. I have to return the saber and hurry home to cook lunch. Let's talk later."
"Okay," Fan Kun replied and turned to leave.
Lu Heng quickly ran to the equipment room.
After returning the saber, he jogged back to the training hall and went over to the fist strength machine.
As usual, there were many people around the machine. It was the only one in the training hall, after all, and everyone wanted to test their fist strength.
"Everyone, could I have a go first? I'm in a hurry to go home and cook lunch," Lu Heng said to the crowd.
The students saw that it was Lu Heng who spoke those words, so they all nodded and said, "Okay, you can give it a go first."
They were not convinced by Lu Heng's reason, but they all wanted to see what Lu Heng's current strength was like anyway.
Ever since Lu Heng had Instructor Wu's recognition, many people were very curious and wanted to know what Lu Heng's current level of strength was.
Was it due to his strength, or was it due to some connections he had made in high school? In any case, seeing that the puzzle would finally be solved, they were naturally willing to let Lu Heng test his fist strength first.
At this time, some of the students in the distance also noticed the situation and gathered around curiously.
Lu Heng turned his head to take a look at the crowd, thinking that this was just the right amount.
If he could prove his strength in front of so many people, he would more or less stop Big Mouth Jia from fabricating some ridiculous lies.
Lu Heng took a deep breath and clenched his right fist.
Pa! Bang!
He suddenly threw a punch and hit the fist strength machine.
Immediately, the number on the display screen started jumping up quickly, before finally stopping at 151.
"Did I hear wrong? Was that a striking sound?"
The students did not have the leisure to care about the number displayed on the fist strength machine.
What they cared about most was whether Lu Heng had made a striking sound.
Before Lu Heng's fist had landed on the machine, there was another clear sound. No matter how they looked at it, it sounded exactly like the striking sound that the instructor had described.
"Lu Heng, you're really talented. You managed to produce the striking sound so quickly. No wonder Instructor Wu values you so much."
A stronger student gave Lu Heng a thumbs up.
His words were decisive. The people present no longer doubted their ears.
Thanks to this, they finally understood why Instructor Wu favored Lu Heng so much.
After all, a striking sound was not easy to produce. It required the practitioner to have mastered the technique of exerting force.
Many people here possessed a level of strength greater than Lu Heng's. They obtained better results than Lu Heng on the machine, but they just could not produce the striking sound.
From this, it could be seen how great Lu Heng's achievement was.
After accepting the fact that Lu Heng had successfully mastered the technique, many people could not help but start guessing again.
Lu Heng's improvement had been so rapid. Could it be that he had started practicing this moveset long ago? Or had he started practicing internal strength techniques long ago?